A Guided Journey
by obsessive
Summary: Christian finishes writing the story and gets a message of hope. I changed the title from Voice of Hope. Chapter 2 is up!
1. Voice of Hope

Voice of Hope  
  
Hi everyone, this is my first Moulin Rouge fic (so exciting!) It's about what I think should happen after Christian finishes writing the story at the end of the movie. Enjoy!  
  
Christian wiped away the last of his tears. It was all over, he told himself. He had fulfilled her wish and was free to forget about it all now. He curled up into a tight little ball on the floor and tried to shut her out of his memory. But he knew it wouldn't work, and awaited the dreams he knew would come.  
  
Eventually, he fell asleep. In the midst of a dream about Satine at the Moulin Rouge, he awoke to the sound of a wrinkled, rolled-up piece of paper dropping on the floor beside him. Shivering with fear, he opened it.  
  
Dear Christian,  
  
Thank you for writing our story. I will be waiting for you. Never forget to believe in love.  
  
All the love in the world,  
  
Satine  
  
Christian read it over and over in disbelief, studying the perfect, intricate handwriting. It seemed impossible, even to a man who lived life by believing impossible ideas and following his heart. He had told himself time and again in the past year that Satine was dead. She was gone forever and he might as well accept it; resume stopped time and live his life again. But here was this letter, which went against everything that he was telling himself was true. Christian didn't know what to think, but he had had enough of the dreams where he was with Satine, and he was sick of the times when, walking through a crowded street, he caught a glimpse of his love. It was all too much, and the reason he finally chose to write the book was that he thought it would be the last time he would ever have to relive it. But tit turned out he thad gone through all the pain, tears and heartache for nothing. The memory of her would haunt him for the rest of his life: that's all that letter was anyway, just his imagination scaring him again. Unless…  
  
Christian reacherd his arms out for the letter, picked it up and examined it. No matter how nonsensical it seemed to be, he had a strong inner feeling that it was real, different from all the times he thought he had seen her. This couldn't be another imagined sign. And then he realized it-the letter just had to be from Satine; even though it sounded crazy, there was no way it could be from anyone else. It was all he had been waiting for since she died. She had sent him a sign at last, and he believed in their love once more.  
  
The lover walked outside and breathed in the fresh nighttime air, the way he hadn't for the longest time. He glanced quickly up to the stars, and then closed his eyes and sent a silen thank you to the only woman he had ever loved.  
  
Come what may,  
  
Come what may,  
  
I will love you  
  
Until my dying day.  
  
Christian's gentle but powerful voice rang though the night. Though it might have seemed to anyone else listening that there was only one singer, he knew that there were two voices. He heard the other voice and it represented to him the truth, beauty, and freedom of love at its purest. And he smiled, the first genuine smile in a year, because the voice gave him hope.  
  
  
  
I'm done! I'm done! Hehe. I hope you liked reading this fic. Review, please, and tell me whether you did, and include any other comments you'd like me to know. Also if you know how to do bold or italic font in a fic, please please please tell me in a review, because I don't think it worked out in this fic. Thanks everyone! 


	2. Living on Chance

1 A Guided Journey  
  
1.1 Chapter 2: Living on Chance  
  
  
  
Thanks soooo much to everyone who reviewed, especially Crystal187 (I'll try what you said to do in this fic, but I might have a different version of Microsoft Word than you) and Loralie (I wasn't intending on continuing this story before, but you inspired me! Thanx! I love you! Well I don't know you, so never mind :) ). Anyway, from her on, there's a real story that will happen, unlike what I usually write, so forgive me if I make minor mistakes, and tell me if there's anything that I'm totally messing up on. So... read it now (and review)!  
  
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After singing, Christian stayed outside for a while, appreciating the beauty that he hadn't had the heart to even notice earlier. When it started raining he had to return to his cramped room, but his mind was still on that wonderful feeling of being happy, free, and optimistic, like he was before he met… That brought him back to reality, and he wondered what the sign could possibly mean for him. He knew that his lifelong faith in love was restored, but now what? Was there more to write in his book? Would he put on Spectacular, Spectaclular again? There was so much to do now that he had been given that much-needed hope.  
  
There was something different about the typewriter though. He had taken the papers used to print the story out of it, but the paper wasn't empty. Looking closer, he saw these four lines:  
  
paris  
  
moulin rouge  
  
now  
  
meet me  
  
It wasn't that Christian didn't believe in love this time. And, unlike before, he had reason to believe that it was from her. But there were still some doubtful questions in the back of his mind. How was it possible for her to write that? If it wasn't Satine, who was it? And, assuming it was Satine, does this mean that I will be able to see her again? Is she going to come back from the dead? And, perhaps most importantly, Will I go?  
  
It took a long time to ponder all of these questions. It was very plausible, being that he had gotten a letter from her before, that it was written by Satine, and, although it didn't make much sense, the Bohemians didn't care about that so why should he? The problem was that he didn't want to raise his hopes too high. That had happened before, and it landed him in mournful sorrow and agony. In the other letter, she wrote that she would be waiting for him. So what did that mean- after he died, or in his lifetime? There was also the problem of going to Paris, because he promised himself he would never go back because all of the memories of the only woman he had ever loved were there. And there was still the small chance that he had gone crazy and was imagining these signs from above, and that by going there, he was believing with all his heart something untrue that would end up destroying him.  
  
But there was no way- after the letter he had read, the voice of hope he had heard, and the message he had just received- that he would give up believing so easily. He had vowed never to go back to the Moulin Rouge, but that was before the signs came. He loved Satine too much to ignore them. So he decided that, come what may, he would go back to Paris, living on the small chance that the lovers would finally have their happy ending. Besides, he had never said a real goodbye to everyone in Paris after Spectacular, Spectacular. He missed Toulouse: one of the only people who shared his belief in truth, beauty, freedom, and love overpowering everything. Maybe his friend could help him.  
  
After carefully removing the paper that contained Satine's second message and putting it aside to save, Christian typed a letter explaining that he was coming back to Paris:  
  
Dear Toulouse,  
  
This is your friend Christian, from Spectacular Spectacular. I know you have not heard from me since I left the Moulin Rouge in such a hurry, and I'm truly sorry about that. I was devastated by Satine's death and I thought I could never live again. But I have been changed, and that is partly why I am writing to you. You see, I am coming to Paris again because of her. I won't explain everything here, but once I get there I must talk to you, that is if you're willing to help me with something. Please wait for me, I will come see you when I get to Paris.  
  
With love and hope,  
  
Christian  
  
He would send the letter tomorrow. After finding Toulouse's address, which had been hidden in a dark corner along with anything else that might remind him of Satine, he fell gratefully onto his makeshift bed. Normally, it felt hard and uncomfortable, but tonight was different because of the hope that his dream of love would come true.  
  
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I know it's very similar to the first chapter, but that's part of the story that it's hard for him to believe anything because he was hurt so badly by her death. The next chapter is very different, I promise! Review please! 


	3. Obsession Lets You Live

A Guided Journey  
  
Chapter 2: Obsession Lets You Live  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moulin Rouge, Come What May, or the little quote I used… you'll see.  
  
Yay I'm posting more finally! Look at the title of this chapter and now look at my screen name, lol. It's sort of my philosophy. Anyway, thanks for the reviews again, keep them coming. And one thing- I think in the movie Christian still lives in France at the end, but in this fic let's just say he lives in England so that this chapter can make sense. R/R!  
  
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The next day was beautiful: a bright blue sky illuminated by the rising sun. Christian woke up early and looked out the tiny window. Remembering why he was up so early, he grinned. Starting over was such a wonderful feeling. It was like falling in love all over again. Opening the window he started to sing joyously at the top of his lungs.  
  
Never knew I could feel like this  
  
Like I've never seen the sky before (He laughed to himself at the words)  
  
Want to vanish inside your kiss-  
  
He paused suddenly. It occurred to him that he hadn't kissed her for a year. Now he was going blindly on a journey all because of his obsession with love.  
  
That wasn't Christian's voice in the back of his head telling him not to go, though. It was his father taking. His father was always a pessimist, but Christian could never figure out why. He had been raised without a mother, in a very cold, uncaring world yet had turned out so differently. Usually he was different, anyway. At times his family's harsh attitudes crept into his head. That had happened when he went to Paris for the first time, and to get rid of the feeling he had gone to say goodbye to his father. Now he knew what he had to do.  
  
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"Good day, Father," said Christian when his father opened the door.  
  
"Christian! I haven't seen you since, well, since you went off to be with those foolish Bohemians," said the older man, showing a rare moment of excitement. Christian chose to ignore the last part of his father's sentence, and he entered the small, tidy living room/kitchen. It was a perfectly nice home for a man living alone, and it was bigger than Christian's garret, but there was definitely something missing from it, and anyone could sense that mysterious feeling by simply walking inside.  
  
Though they had never been close, they talked for a while. Christian told his story of the Moulin Rouge and Spectacular, Spectacular!, carefully leaving out Satine. But his father saw through the story. He could somehow sense that his son had fallen in love from how his story didn't make sense and the way he was acting. He didn't like it at all.  
  
"You're trying to hide something, I know it," he said, interrupting bluntly.  
  
"Of course not. I told you, I wrote a play and it was performed at the Moulin Rouge, and then I came back here to write and take a break from my life."  
  
"Christian, my son… did you fall in love?" the father asked, more softly and gently than Christian could remember him ever speaking.  
  
"Yes." That one word was so small, but it meant everything in the world to Christian. "She was so beautiful, so was our love. She was my angel, my sparkling diamond, my reason for living. And she…" There was a long pause. "She died of consumption. The only woman I ever loved died in my arms, telling me to live on. But I didn't for a year."  
  
"And then?" Knowing his son, and his belief in love, the question was already answered.  
  
"I wrote our story. And somehow, somehow she's calling to me. I've seen it, heard it, felt it to be true. So I'm going back to the Bohemians in Montmarte because she'll be there. I don't care if it's foolish. I'm going, again, to find love. But this time it will really last forever."  
  
"I know you're having trouble accepting her death, but love won't overcome everything. She's gone. She's gone forever and you can't bring her back. When are you going to understand it? Love is just an illusion. It's rarely real and it never lasts forever. So get over your ridiculous obsession with love before you hurt yourself any more."  
  
"I'm not going to hurt myself. I know I will see her if, no, when I go. And you can't stop me because I believe in love. You've always taught me not to, but I do. And I'm old enough to make my own decisions now, and maybe even give you some advice. So where it is: why don't you have faith in love?"  
  
"Why don't I have faith in love? Why would I? Love is unreliable."  
  
"How would you know? You never open yourself up to anyone. Why don't you try it before you scorn it?"  
  
They both paced around the room, afraid to look at each other.  
  
"Christian, I never told you about your mother."  
  
"You always said you told me enough. You told me she died giving birth to me."  
  
"No. She left us, when I thought we were in love. Five years of love gone in an instant, Christian. That's why I never wanted you to believe in love."  
  
(A/N: All you Star Wars fans were expecting "No. I am your mother" right? Sorry I resisted that urge… almost :p )  
  
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"  
  
"I couldn't. It's hard just to think about it."  
  
"Do you still love her?" There was another break in the conversation, as they both looked down at the floor and thought about love. Finally someone had to break the silence.  
  
"I don't know if I still love her. It's been a very long time. But I know now that I love you, and that's a step towards my old life. I won't suddenly become obsessed with love like you, but I admire you for your faith in it. Your obsession lets you live, without out it you would be lost and lonely. I won't take that away from you. Go to Paris and find your love, you have my blessing. And maybe someday you can come back and I'll be a real father to you."  
  
"Thank you for understanding, Father…Dad." It was a name he hadn't used since childhood, and even then he hadn't meant it.  
  
"Good luck with everything."  
  
"I won't get hurt, I promise," Christian said, opening the door to leave. "And I love you, I really mean it this time. Find your faith in love for me. Please." He closed the door. And somehow, that intangible something wasn't missing anymore.  
  
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End file.
